Law

June 2, 2009 -- "I was delighted to have the chance to see Judge Sotomayor, again. I have come to know her fairly well during her years of service on the Second Circuit, the Circuit covering Vermont, New York and Connecticut.    » read more »

Legislation affects veterans, establishes continuing care bill of rights and enhances mandatory reporting in education

June 2, 2009 -- (Salem) – Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski today signed 24 bills into law, including a law to better protect a disabled veteran or service officer from being taken advantage (House Bill 3020), a continuing care “bill of rights” (House Bill 2138) and mandatory reporting for Teacher Standards and Practices investigators (House Bill 2063).

All list of the bills signed today with a summary is below. For the full list of all the bills the Governor has signed this session, visit: http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/2009_Action.shtml.

House Bills:    » read more »

June 2, 2009 -- AUGUSTA – Maine Governor John E. Baldacci today ceremonially signed LD 389, “An Act to Facilitate the State's Existing Commitment to the Production of Liquid Biofuels.” Representative Steven Butterfield (D-Bangor), sponsor of the legislation, attended today’s bill signing.

The bill continues the State’s efforts to encourage the development and use of sustainable biofuels through the existing tool of the Clean Fuel Vehicle Fund. In addition, the Secretary of State may develop and administer an online, voluntary way for people to contribute to the Fund.    » read more »

June 2, 2009 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and more than a dozen state agencies, nonprofits and service providers today hosted an opportunity and help fair at the Capitol for working families struggling to survive the economic downturn.

At the fair, Gov. Ritter also signed into law six bills that will help families through this challenging time, including measures that extend unemployment benefits and provide a foreclosure "time-out" to responsible homeowners.

"We must do everything we can to help those who are struggling, to keep Coloradans in their jobs, and to keep families in their homes," Gov. Ritter said. "Today we are providing direct and immediate assistance to working families and we will continue to do so in the months ahead.    » read more »

June 2, 2009 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter today signed into law 10 health care and non-profit measures, including bills to help families cope with the high costs of caring for children with autism and to improve care in Colorado's rural communities.

"Health care reform is a central part of the Colorado Promise and my strategy for leading Colorado forward," Gov. Ritter said. "Over the last 2½ years, we've increased availability, improved quality and addressed costs. The bills I am signing today will help continue our efforts to build a strong, sustainable health care system for Colorado."    » read more »

June 2, 2009 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter today signed five bills to help protect and conserve Colorado's water and land.

"Colorado's natural resources -- our water, land and wildlife -- are a key part what make's this state so special," Gov. Ritter said. "It is a great privilege and a great responsibility to manage these resources for future generations. Conservation also is about more than just protecting our natural resources; it's also about protecting economic resources, including the $3 billion and 34,000 jobs supported by hunting, fishing and wildlife activities in Colorado each year."

The bills signed today:    » read more »

June 2, 2009 -- Active-duty military personnel and veterans joined Colorado Governor Bill Ritter today as he signed five bills that will help improve services for current and retired members of the armed forces and their families.

"Veterans and active-duty military are key components of Colorado's economic and social fabric, and we have a moral obligation to provide fully for them," Gov. Ritter said. "The brave men and women who serve in the military, as well as their families, sacrifice so much for us, which is why I am pleased to sign these bills into law today. They send the message that Colorado respects and cares for its active duty military, veterans and families."    » read more »

Chicago, June 2, 2009 -- J. Michael Luttig, executive vice president and general counsel of The Boeing Company [NYSE:BA], today directed that an immediate appeal be made following a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision upholding the government’s position in the long-running A-12 case.

“Today's decision, which awards no amount of damages to either the contractors or the government, is but the next step in this regrettable litigation that is now in its eighteenth year. The decision is fatally flawed under what has been the law governing this case from the outset. It creates out of whole cloth a new law that essentially requires the case to be tried anew from the beginning,” Luttig said.    » read more »

June 1, 2009 -- Attached, please find a letter that was sent this morning to Senators Reid, McConnell, Leahy, and Sessions from law clerks of Judge Sonia Sotomayor expressing their full support for her elevation to the Supreme Court.

June 1, 2009

The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
361-A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
433 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Jeff Sessions
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
335 Russell Senate Office Building    » read more »

NWF and NRDC Help Notch a Win with Implications Throughout the Great Lakes

(June 1, 2009) -- A New York State Supreme Court Justice dismissed a challenge brought by shipping interests against the state’s tough new ballast water requirements, which are designed to limit the introduction of more invasive species into the Great Lakes.

Legal experts at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and National Wildlife Federation (NWF) hail the win as a huge victory for states in the region that have taken an aggressive stand to limit dumping of water containing biological pollution from ocean going vessels. Alien species have already cost the Great Lakes economy billions of dollars.    » read more »

Continues to Blather on About Separation of Powers

Columbia, S.C. - June 1, 2009 - After a federal judge today sent two stimulus lawsuits back to the state Supreme Court, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford said he would not make any state or federal appeals of whatever is decided by the state’s top court, and will abide by whatever their decision is regarding a disputed $700 million in federal stimulus funds.    » read more »

May 29, 2009 -- PLAINFIELD, IND. -- Judge Larry McKinney today issued a ruling in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana calling for Duke Energy to shut down three units at the company’s West Terre Haute Wabash River Station no later than Sept. 30, 2009.

The majority of the plant’s capacity is unaffected by the ruling, which calls for units 2, 3 and 5 to be retired, while the remaining Duke Energy-owned units at the station – 4 and 6 – will be unaffected. Shutting down units 2, 3 and 5 will remove a combined capacity of 265 megawatts, which is 39 percent of the station’s 677- megawatt power generating capacity.    » read more »

Claims BASF is Infringing Patents Relating to Herbicide Tolerance Technology

Wilmington, Del., June 1, 2009 - DuPont today filed a lawsuit claiming BASF is infringing four patents relating to biotechnology traits similar to those used in DuPont’s proprietary Optimum® GAT® trait. The patents listed in the lawsuit confer tolerance to an herbicide class with excellent environmental characteristics known as ALS inhibitors and pertain to certain methods for controlling weeds. The lawsuit was filed today in U.S Federal Court in the District of Delaware.    » read more »

May 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – In his weekly address, President Barack Obama called for a rigorous, principled and swift confirmation for his Supreme Court nominee, Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Judge Sotomayor’s extraordinary professional career, as a New York City prosecutor, a litigator, and as a judge for 17 years, is matched only by her remarkable life story, from growing up in a housing project to graduating from Princeton University and Yale Law School.

With the depth of her experience, she will be a prudent Justice who respects and adheres to the Constitution and the law.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Washington D.C.    » read more »

May 28, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Aventis Pharmaceutical Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC, has agreed to pay the United States $95.5 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by misreporting drug prices in order to reduce its Medicaid Drug Rebate obligations, the Justice Department announced today.

The settlement resolves allegations that between 1995 and 2000, Aventis and its corporate predecessors knowingly misreported best prices for the steroid-based anti-inflammatory nasal sprays Azmacort, Nasacort and Nasacort AQ. Under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Statute, Aventis was required to report to Medicaid the lowest, or "best" price that it charged commercial customers, and pay quarterly rebates to the states based on those reported prices.    » read more »